Curtis v. James River Insurance Company

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided December 3, 2019·No. 2:19-cv-01565·Unknown

Opinion

1 Honorable Marsha J. Pechman 2 5 6

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE 9 KELSEY CURTIS, 10 NO. 2:19-CV-01565 MJP Plaintiff, Lt AGREED PRETRIAL ORDER v. 12 JAMES RIVER INSURANCE COMPANY, 13 Defendant. 14 15 ié Under Local Court Rule 16 and the Court’s Minute Entry (Dkt. 21), the parties submit this

Agreed Pretrial Order:

Is JURISDICTION

Defendant is an insurance company organized under the laws of the State of Ohio, with its

principal place of business in Virginia. Plaintiff □□ a resident of Washington State. Plaintiff filed

suit in King County Superior Court on September 13, 2018. Defendant removed the case to the

United States District Court, Western District of Washington, on October 1, 2019, citing 28 U.S.C,

5 § 1332, § 1441 and § 1446. Plaintiff has not objected to the jurisdiction of the federal court.

Accordingly, jurisdiction is appropriate based on diversity of citizenship of the parties. 25 26

Peterson | Wampold AGREED PRETRIAL ORDER - 1 Rosato | Feldman | Luna CASE NO. 2:19-CV-01565 MJP 1501 FOURTH AVENUE, SUITE 2800 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101-3677 PHONE: (206) 624-6800 FAX: (206) 682-1415

1 Il. CLAIMS AND DEFENSES 2 Plaintiff will pursue the following claims at trial: 3 l. Breach of UIM Contract 4 2. Negligence 5 Be Bad Faith 6 4, Violation of the Insurance Fair Conduct Act (IFCA) 5 Violation of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 8 Defendant will pursue the following claims at trial: 1. Plaintiff failed to mitigate her damages 10|| 2. A genuine dispute exists as to the amount Plaintiff is legally entitled to recover as compensatory damages from defendant Cooper. 3. Plaintiff failed to properly communicate with James River as to her claim for UM 13]| coverage benefits, including but not limited to engaging in good faith settlement negotiations. 14 Ill. ADMITTED FACTS 15 I, Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle operated on behalf of Uber by Yakub Kahn 16 when his vehicle was struck by a vehicle operated by Andie Cooper on October 8, 17 2016. 18 2. Plaintiff sustained certain injuries in the collision. 19 a Defendant issued Policy No. CA436100WA-01 to Rasier, LLC, et al., policy period 20 03/01/16-03/01/17 (“Policy”). 2) 4. The Policy provides uninsured motorist coverage for passengers riding in vehicles 22 covered by the Policy. 23 a Andie Cooper was an uninsured driver. 24 6. Plaintiff made a claim for UM coverage under the Policy. 25 7. Defendant accepted coverage for Plaintiff's UM claim. 26 8. On April 12, 2018, Defendant received correspondence from Plaintiff which set

AGREED PRETRIAL ORDER -2 Rosato | reldman | Luna CA □ 2:19-CV-01565 MJP 1501 FOURTH AVENUE, SUITE 2800 some vues FAX: (206) 682-1415

1 forth a settlement demand of $150,000.00. 2 9, On May 7, 2018, Defendant offered $22,376.78 to settle Plaintiff's UM claim. 3 10. On August 23, 2018, Defendant received notice of Plaintiff's intent to seek 4 remedies under IFCA, RCW 48.30.015.11. On September 13, 2018, Plaintiff 5 filed suit in King County Superior Court, Kelsey Curtis v. James River Insurance 6 Company and Andie Cooper, King County Cause No. 18-2-22906-5 SEA. ? IV. ISSUES OF LAW 8 de Whether James River is liable for breach of contract. 9 2 Whether James River is liable for negligence. 10 35 Whether James River is liable for bad faith. 11 4, Whether James River is in violation of IFCA. 12 5. Whether James River is in violation of the CPA. 13 6. Whether Plaintiff is entitled to fees and costs under RCW 48.30.015 and/or RCW 14 19.86.090, 16 On behalf of Plaintiff: 17 WITNESS NATURE OF TESTIMONY | STATUS | Kelsey Curtis Plaintiff Kelsey Curtis will testify concerning the | Will testify c/o PWRFL collision, her injuries, as well as any facts that 19] | 1501 Fourth Ave, Suite pertain to the claims at issue in this lawsuit. 20 2800 Seattle, WA 98101 | (206) 624-6800 Steven Strzelec Steven Strzelec will testify about claims- | Will testify | Strzelec Consulting handling standards nationally and in Services Washington. He will testify that James River 23)) | 20719 NE 8th St. failed to meet minimum industry standards for PE mae 98074 | handling UIM claims. He will testify that James River's repeated offer of 50 cents for general 25 damages, non-disparagement and confidentiality is an unreasonable denial of payment of benefits 26 under a UIM policy that contractually requires James River to fulfill the promise of paying all Peterson | Wampold AGREED PRETRIAL ORDER - 3 Rosato | Feldman | Luna CASE NO. 2:19-CV-01565 MJP 1501 FOURTH AVENUE, SUITE 2800 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101-3677 PHONE: (206) 624-6800 FAX: (206) 682-1415

1 sums that Ms. Curtis is legally entitled to recover as compensatory damages from the owner or 2 driver of an uninsured vehicle. He will testify 3 that James River did not adequately investigate Ms. Curtis’ UIM claim and that James River did 4 not have adequate support to offer 50 cents in general damages to Ms. Curtis. He will testify 5 that James River’s offer appears to be based on conjecture and speculation, not a reasonable 6 investigation. He will testify that in determining 7 how the accident and injury has impacted the insured’s life, a claim handler needs to determine 8 all of the injuries suffered in the accident, the pain and suffering caused by those injuries, and 9 how those injuries and the accident have impacted the insured’s life and insured’s ability 10 to lead their normal pre-accident life. Mr. Strzelec will testify that James River failed to meet its obligation of at least giving equal 12 consideration to Ms. Curtis’ interests. Mr. Strzelec will also testify that James River’s 13 refusal to disclose to Ms. Curtis the UIM policy limits and other provisions even though Ms. 14 Curtis was an insured under the UIM policy is a 15 violation of national first-party claims handling standards. Mr. Strzelec will point out that this 16 industry standard that James River failed to comply with also has a corresponding WAC. 17 Kris Moe, MD Dr. Moe will be called as a witness at trial and | Will testify 18 Harborview Medical will testify regarding his care and treatment of | Center Ms. Curtis following the collision. Please see his Otolaryngology-Head and | medical records previously produced for | Neck Surgery Clinic additional details. Dr. Moe will testify that Ms. 325 Ninth Avenue Curtis sustained facial injuries due to the | Seattle, WA 98104 collision and that her surgery and nasal drainage 206-520-5000 were caused by the collision. He will testify as : to his diagnosis of and prognosis for Ms. Curtis. 23 He will testify that Ms. Curtis’ care and treatment at Harborview following the collision was 24 reasonable and necessary. He will also testify that he referred Ms. Curtis to Dr. Davis for future 25 treatment options due to the permanency of her nasal drainage and will testify regarding the 26 nature of that procedure.

Peterson | Wampold AGREED PRETRIAL ORDER - 4 Rosato | Feldman | Luna CASE NO. 2:19-CV-01565 MJP 1501 FOURTH AVENUE, SUITE 2800 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98101-3677 PHONE: (206) 624-6800 FAX: (206) 682-1415.

□□ Greg Davis, MD Dr. Davis will be called as a witness at trial and | May testify | UW Medicine will testify regarding his care and treatment of 3 Otolaryngology-Head and | Ms. Curtis following the collision. He will Neck Surgery Clinic testify that Ms. Curtis’ options for treatment of | 1959 NE Pacific, 3rd Floor | her nasal drainage are to continue Atrovent nasal Seattle, WA 98195 spray or undergo Clarifix cryotherapy on her | 206-598-4022 posterior nasal nerve. Dr.

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